SandWings
SandWings are pale gold, light yellow, to off-white (mimicking the desert terrain where they live) fire-breathing dragons with venomous, scorpion-like barbs on the ends of their tails. They reside in the deserts of Pyrrhia, primarily in the Kingdom of Sand. Until eighteen years before the events of The Dragonet Prophecy, they were ruled by Queen Oasis; however, she was murdered by three scavengers who sought after the SandWing Treasure, one of which was later captured by Smolder as a pet and named Flower. Following her death, the tribe split between the three heiresses for the throne: Blaze, Blister, and Burn. Blaze, the youngest, had the support of most of the SandWings along with an alliance with the IceWings. Blister, the middle sibling, was allied with the SeaWings, Talons of Peace, and secretly the NightWings, unknown to any of the other tribes or queens. Blister was also allied with MudWings, but later, in Assassin, the MudWings switched to Burn's side due to Deathbringer assassinating Commander Tempest with a MudWing spear, and therefore framing the MudWings. Burn, the oldest sister, was allied with the SkyWings, and later threatened the MudWings into an alliance with her once their alliance with Blister became unstable (she promised them protection for the next 100 years). None of the queens allied with RainWings due to the common belief they were very lethargic and had no natural weapons (Fire, tail barbs, frostbreath etc.) The War of SandWing Succession ended by Queen Thorn being chosen as the SandWing queen instead of Blister Blaze or Burn by her daughter, Sunny, using the Eye of Onyx. Burn and Blister died, while Blaze "bowed to a fate stronger and higher", as seen when she was bowing to Queen Thorn. Burn died from a Dragonbite Viper bite and Blister, furious about not becoming queen, was burnt to ashes by trying to take the Eye of Onyx from Thorn. The SandWings have had two animus dragons, one being Jerboa (deceased), and her daughter Jerboa II, who is immortal and currently lives in a small hut on a beach, which is on the border between the Ice Kingdom and the Sand Kingdom. Description SandWings have long necks and are anatomically and biologically built to survive in the desert. They have pale yellow, pale gold, light sandy-colored, white-gold, light yellow-brown, or off-white scales that blend in with the desert sand. Some SandWings, like Queen Thorn and Qibli, have been described with brown speckles on their wings and snouts, sort of like human freckles. Their snouts tend to be short and compact, with a nose-spike, and a smaller horn under their ear. Some can also have black diamond patterns on their scales, like Blister, Cobra, and Smolder, the latter dragon having black diamond patterns on his wings as well. SandWings seem to walk on their 'toes' as well. One dragon, Vulture, has skulls tattooed on him, meaning dragons have the resources to do so. Some have also been noted to have triangle patterns on their wings, like Jerboa II. They also have a ridge going from their head and about 3/4 of their tails, forked black tongues, glittering black eyes, and are armed with venomous, scorpion-like barbs on the end of their tails. They can breathe fire and radiate moderate heat from their scales. Abilities The two main SandWing defenses are their ability to breathe fire and poison other dragons with their venomous barbed tails, which they use by stabbing their enemies' hearts, backs, and skulls (presumably other places as well). The venom in a SandWing's barb acts like scorpion venom. This venom may possibly target blood cells or white blood cells to let bacteria to set in, as Webs's wound, inflicted by Blister, turned black and became infected, with the darkness spreading gradually. The venom sac, which carries the venom, is most likely located right under the barb. The venom's lethality depends on the dosage. A full dose can kill almost instantly, while a smaller dose kills slowly. If it is not a full dose, it can be countered by the juice from a Brightsting cactus, which grows commonly outside Thorn's stronghold, and is shown to be sold in the Scorpion Den. They are also able to survive extended periods of time without water and can bury themselves in the desert sand to camouflage themselves, usually against enemies and for protection. SandWings also eat very little, as was shown when "a lizard a day was good enough for her Sunny" and when Dune said that SandWings normally ate very little. They can also radiate moderate heat from their scales, no matter what the temperature outside. SandWings have the best hearing out of all the tribes, as shown in the fifth book when the dialogue stated, "with her Sunny's exceptionally sharp SandWing hearing..." SandWings also have a good sense of smell, as shown when Qibli reassured Tamarin that he wasn't smelling smoke in Darkness of Dragons, "And SandWings normally have a good sense of smell." SandWing dragonets are taught how to hold their tails in a certain way, as to not accidentally harm and damage another. They are also known to hold their tail in a more threatening manner, mimicking that of a scorpion's threatening stance. Queens Queen Scorpion was the ruler of the SandWings during Darkstalker's time. She allowed the NightWings and the IceWings to fight on the outskirts of her land when Prince Arctic the IceWing went to the NightWing tribe. She also stole the treasure from the NightWings when they abandoned the old Night Kingdom, the treasures becoming the SandWing treasury that would be raided by scavengers during Queen Oasis's reign (almost 2,000 years later). Queen Oasis once oversaw the Kingdom of Sand, yet none of the heirs challenged her to death for the throne. The queen was murdered by one scavenger in a group with three in total, who then took part of the SandWing Treasure. It turned out that Blister had taken the rest, as stated in book five, and the rest of Pyrrhia erupted in the war along with alliances of the three successors. The Eye of Onyx, an animus-touched item that made whoever holding it the SandWing queen (although additional enchantments are placed on it as well), was hidden in Queen Oasis' jaws, buried with her in her grave. Flower the scavenger, owned by Smolder the SandWing, (brother of the SandWing sisters) placed it in her mouth before running to hide. Blister killed Burn with a package containing two Dragonbite Vipers which killed her, and challenged Blaze, but she exploded into a pile of black ashes when she snatched the enchanted Eye of Onyx away from Thorn, who Sunny declared as queen. Blaze survived, but not as a queen, and as the prophecy says: "Of three queens who blister and blaze and burn, two shall die and one shall learn - If she bows to a fate that is stronger and higher, she'll have the power of the wings of fire." Blaze now needs to accept her new queen, Queen Thorn. However, unknown to the SandWings as well as most of the dragon population, the prophecy is false. The Prophecy also states that the dragon who bows will have "the power of wings of fire", which happened to refer to the Eye of Onyx, however it is probably not what the Morrowseer, the maker of the prophecy, originally intended. Before the War of the SandWing Succession, Blister promised that she would send Burn out to help kill the scavengers, but she didn't, leaving Queen Oasis to face them alone. Her death was Blister's plan, and when Blister, Blaze, and Burn couldn't decide who was going to ascend the throne, the War started. As of Moon Rising, Queen Thorn rules the SandWings peacefully with her heir being Princess Sunny. At the end of Escaping Peril, Qibli said he thought Thorn deserved to live forever. Names SandWings are the dragons of the desert biome, so naturally, that is where they get their names. The flora, fauna, and landscape of both deserts and savannas are used as names to the tribe. SandWings have also been known to name themselves after black colored gemstones. Known SandWings *Addax *Agave *Arid *Armadillo *Ex-Princess Blaze *Princess Blister *Princess Burn *Camel *Capybara *King Char *Cobra *Dune *Horizon *Jerboa *Jerboa II *Kindle *Meerkat *General Needle *Queen Oasis *Ocotillo *Ex-Princess Onyx *Ostrich (Deserter) *Ostrich *Palm *Parch *Prickle *Pronghorn *Qibli *Quicksand *Rattlesnake *Saguaro *General Sandstorm *Prince Scald *Queen Scorpion *Prince Singe *Sirocco *Six-Claws *Ex-Prince Smolder *Princess Sunny (Also half NightWing) *Tawny *Queen Thorn *Torch *Viper *Vulture Known Animus Dragons * Jerboa * Jerboa II Students at Jade Mountain * Arid * Onyx (Currently gone) * Ostrich * Pronghorn * Qibli (Currently gone) Trivia *Brightsting Cactus juice is the only known cure for SandWing tail barb venom. *SandWings have heightened hearing, according to The Brightest Night. This is because Sunny, even as a hybrid, is said to have the best hearing of the Dragonets of Destiny. *SandWing venom is shown to blacken the wound it creates. *SandWings are very light eaters. *According to Moon Rising, SandWings are a musical tribe. They weren't able to show their talent in the last 20 years because of the War. *SandWings do not develop their tail-barbs until they're older. When they're younger, they have a smaller barb, which is not as effective. (This may also be true for other tribe abilities as well.) *SandWing dragonets learn at a young age how to avoid stabbing other dragons with their poisonous barb by accident by curling it up into a spiral. *It has been confirmed that SandWings have had animus dragons. (Jerboa and her daughter, also known as Jerboa II, are the only known SandWing animus dragons by name.) *The first pure SandWing PoV in the main series is Darkness of Dragons, featuring Qibli. *Queen Scorpion, the SandWing Queen in Darkstalker (Legends), allowed the NightWings and IceWings to use some of her desert territory as a battlefield in exchange for payments of treasure from both tribes. *It is likely that the SandWings obtained most of their treasure from the NightWing and IceWing's payments to them mentioned in Darkstalker (Legends). It is also possible that the SandWings got most of their treasure by robbing the NightWing palace after they left due to the events in the aforementioned book. *They have a celebration called 'The Full Moon Festival'. *Around the end of Darkness of Dragons, Qibli states that SandWings have claustrophobia (a supposed effect from living in the wide-open desert.) Gallery Click here to see the gallery. de:Sandflügler fr:Ailes de Sable Category:Tribes of Dragons Category:SandWing History Category:Tribes of Pyrrhia